The young Dutch men and women who made their way from Nazi-occupied Europe to England to join the fight against the enemy were known as Engelandvaarders. Some made the journey directly across the North Sea. For further information, visit the following links:
Engelandvaarder 2011: http://northsea.moonfruit.com/#. A commemoration of an incredible crossing of the North Sea by kayak.
Genootschap Engelandvaarders (Engelandvaarders Society): http://www.engelandvaarders1940-1945.nl/cms/welkom/wie-of-wat/
“How a Chevy-Powered Boat Delivered Five Dutchmen from the Nazis” (New York Times, Sep. 2, 2011): http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/how-a-chevy-powered-boat-delivered-five-dutchmen-from-the-nazis/#more-120861
Long Journey Home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyoMa70i7tg. About Willem Hamminga’s round the world trip to reach England and fly against the Germans.
RAF Rescue of Engelandvaarders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeSOHQLQh-U&feature=related
For more on this subject, click here to see the other page on this website about Engelandvaarders. To see a list of Engelandvaarders helped by the Smit-Van der Heijden Line, click here.
WWII Netherlands Escape Lines 